Agenda
Retail Week’s General Counsel is the industry’s leading networking event for legal leaders to share how they’re approaching the seismic transformations in retail. Check out the agenda below.
Tuesday 25th Jun 2024
The retail landscape continues to be reshaped by a myriad of threats. From supply chain disruptions and the effects of global political instability, to shifting regulatory landscapes and technological development outpacing regulation, each demands increasing strategic resilience and agility from retailers striving to keep up.
But there’s opportunities on the horizon too, for those flexible brands able to adapt and innovate to best fit their customers’ ever changing wants and needs without hurting the bottom line.
Join Retail Week’s director of data and insights, Lisa Byfield-Green, to uncover the biggest macro and microeconomic factors set to influence the retail sector over the next year and uncover the successful strategies retailers are implementing to navigate the uncertainty ahead.
As retailers move beyond mere rhetoric to implement authentic ED&I strategies that truly engage, what role should retail’s legal leaders be playing to advance these initiatives within their organisations?
In this fireside chat with a leading retailer, we will explore:
- Aligning ED&I objectives with legal frameworks without it feeling like a ‘tick-box’ exercise
- Harnessing the power of data to identify and address disparities in inclusivity and inform future strategy
- The role of GCs in building across-organisation collaboration to foster a culture of belonging and openness
The consumer landscape is becoming increasingly more conscious, with upcoming generations set to be the most willing to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to ESG commitments from retailers.
And with data showing over half of consumers believe they’re the ones who should be pushing brands to achieve better social and environmental outcomes, their voices are only set to get louder.
So, what can retailers do to get the balance right when it comes to ESG? And what role can legal teams play when it comes to easing the pressure?
In this panel session we will delve into the dynamic interplay between consumer attitudes and corporate responsibilities to explore:
- The changing landscape of consumer attitudes towards ESG
- Compliance considerations for retailers building and adapting policy
- Emerging trends and best practice in ESG reporting and transparency
- Global perspectives on ESG regulations
Brand collaboration can open the doors to unparallelled engagement, novel reach and unrivalled efficiencies unlocked through pooled resources and talent, but the benefits must be counterbalanced to the risks.
With the reputation of both organisations on the line, values and goals have to be aligned, transparency is key, and communication must remain top of the agenda.
So how should retail’s legal teams approach collaboration opportunities to minimise the risks and see maximum benefit?
In this panel session retail leaders and industry experts will come together to answer the big questions.
As digital technologies reshape the retail landscape at an unprecedented pace, legal leaders are in a critical role to navigate the course forward.
In this fireside chat we discuss actionable insights and powerful strategies to help legal leaders steer retail organisations through this new digital terrain.
You’ll learn:
- Overcoming hurdles to tech implementation: from security and protections to regulation and compliance
- Future-proofing tech strategies – how to embrace innovation ahead of legislation and regulatory developments
- Managing partner relationships with third-party tech providers
- Adopting a pro-active approach: how retails legal leaders can enable businesses to embrace creativity and tech experimentation
Sustainability is not only ethically important, but it’s also a major revenue driver. With a staggering 71% of UK consumers claiming to be ‘sceptical’ about green claims made by brands, it’s never been more important to get sustainability reporting and communications right.
But who’s responsibility really is sustainability reporting? And what role should GCs be taking in the process?
This panel session brings together industry experts and leading retailers to discuss the transformative power of comprehensive sustainability reporting to bridge the gap between sustainability compliance and genuine commitment.
We will explore:
- The importance of transparency and accountability in building trust with consumers and stakeholders
- Making it practical: the tech increasing efficiencies and effectiveness when it comes to measurement and data collection
- The strategies GCs can leverage to embed sustainability strategy down through the business
Almost every retailer is set be on the road to AI experimentation by the end of 2024. And whilst the tech presents unprecedented opportunities, taking the wrong path to implementation can lead to a host of legal pitfalls.
As the regulatory environment struggles to keep up the pace, it’s up to retail’s legal leaders to help navigate this complex terrain, creating guidance to allow businesses to ethically harness the power of AI whilst mitigating against future risk.
In this keynote presentation find out:
- Where to start: building a comprehensive framework of ethical guidelines surrounding AI
- Mitigating bias and discrimination: what measures can you implement to identify and minimise algorithmic biases?
- Fostering transparency and accountability: where does the fault lie when AI goes wrong?
Retail’s legal leaders don't have it easy. Thrust to the forefront of the sectors’ most complex and challenging issues, the role requires more than just legal acumen, needing resilience, vision and a bold approach to risk.
For our closing panel session, we’ll be joined by a host of inspiring retail leaders and industry experts as they share their experiences and strategies for cultivating confidence, innovation and forward-thinking leadership in the face of uncertainty.
Don’t miss the chance to explore:
- How to embrace complexity: developing the resilience to tackle multifaceted challenges head-on
- Championing innovation: harnessing the power of legal expertise to drive innovation and seize opportunity
- Fostering collaboration: how to build strong cross-company partnerships to encourage collective problem-solving
- Empowering self-confidence: embracing your unique strengths and capabilities as a legal leader
Interested in sponsoring?
Our daylong conference provides an ideal platform for you to position your brand as a trusted partner to the retail industry and gives you access to General Counsels and in-house Legal Directors across the community.